Shadows
by maerd
Summary: PG for language. It's Harry's 5th year, and let's just say... Voldemort's back. But not quite yet! You jus' have to read and such. R/R.


"Harry Potter, Harry Potter. The best in our entire wizard world. Oh, let me bow down and kiss your feet, Harry Potter!" Draco sang mockily to his friends as they walked down the dimmed road near the Quidditch yard. Draco waved his wand and the vines untangled from the road and they slithered around the tree trunks instead. His friends snickered as Draco made loud kissing noises. His friends laughed harder and they knocked into each other, trying to breathe in between giggles. Draco Malfoy smiled and looked at his friends, his eyes gleaming. He had their attention. "Harry! It's me, Hermione! Kiss me, Harry! Kiss me!" He made more kissing sounds and his friends fell over laughing. Draco himself laughed and the three 15 year olds descended off the dirt road, giggling and laughing every now and then.

The road (actually, It was just a narrow clearing through woods. Like a hiking trail… Not long, I might add. It might lose Dudley a pound or so) was quite known to all Slytherins. It's been kept a secret from the rest of Hogwarts (maybe Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore knows) for more than ten years. The vines of the road narrowed the road to the width of a bike's tire. Draco hated that fact so much he would wake up early in the morning just to clear the road. Of course, his friends would drag along…

The three walked onto the Quidditch yard- mostly grass and a few weeds sprouting along the perimeter. The sun peeped over the trees. The sky was spread with color ranging of pink to blue. Birds were chirping like sirens going off at an earthquake. The students of Hogwarts have opened their eyes to a brand new day. A brand new day at the school of witchcraft and wizardry. 

As the three wizards of Slytherin entered the building of Hogwarts, Draco bumped into Hermione Granger, one of the smartest students of Hogwarts. She pushed her arms up and down to try and get her books together. Hermione glanced at Draco. Draco looked innocent at first then he grew to his devilish side, as he knew that he had bumped into Hermione and not one of the head teachers. Hermione held her books close to her with her arms crossed over the front book. Draco stopped in his tracks and stepped a few steps back to look at Hermione. Hermione glared at him and kept walking. Draco held an arm out and he caught her against his arm, her books slipping beneath her arms. They tumbled onto the floor. She muttered a few words and pulled her wand out of her pocket. With that quick gesture, Draco was flung into his friends. His friends fell over and Draco lost balance and fell over onto them. Hermione gathered her books and kept walking, keeping quiet as everyone around her started whispering about how such a nice girl like Hermione would do an un-nice thing to Draco.

Draco leapt up from where he fell and stormed with loud footsteps over to the back of Hermione. He seized her right shoulder and pulled back. Hermione spun around and Draco raised his fist. He pulled it back and swung it at her. Just then, Ron Weasley stormed into the scene, waved his wand in the air, and sprouted words from his mouth. "Stupefy!" Draco Malfoy -instead of punching Hermione in the face, rather, he gripped her shoulders with both hands and fell to the ground in a heap. Draco's friends got up and blinked. Draco was now unconscious by the hit of Ron's charm.

Hermione stepped over Draco and said her thanks to Ron. He replied with, "Any time." and the two left for the Gryffindor dorm rooms to get Harry Potter for Quidditch practice. The sun was rising and Harry's Quidditch practice began in a few minutes. Ron was running beside Hermione.

"I bet you a galleon that Oliver Wood will yell at Harry for being a few seconds late!" Ron said with a gasp as he dodged a Gryffindor. He quickly said an apology and caught up next to Hermione, who was amazingly running between numerous wizards-in-training with at least five books in her arms. Ron asked if he could even help carry her books but Hermione seemed so far off to her own world, ignored him as if he wasn't even there. She probably didn't even remember Ron was there. 

So instead of trying to catch her attention, Ron jumped between each gap of students. He was far quicker than Hermione. He had experience dodging numerous people in his household back in the Muggle world. Ron had reached the entrance before Hermione. But he hadn't seen her emerge from the crowd of Gryffindors for a few moments. He figured she went somewhere else instead, probably to a classroom or some sort. He tapped the Portrait of the Fat Lady and the painting of the fat lady's eyes fluttered open. She first frowned at the fact that someone woke her from her deep sleep's dream involved with one of the other paintings, Sir Knight Wicklespout. She quickly noticed Ron and said her apologies. Ron nodded and muttered the word, "Whatever." He said the Gryffindor password and the portrait swung open. Just as he crawled in, he heard the portrait.

"I heard that, Ron Weasley!" She said with quite perk.

The portrait swung closed and Ron ran over to Harry's bed. He tore the blanket off of Harry and shook him. "Harry! Wake up!" Ron has had a large amount of sugar from the batch full of sweets he had eaten the earlier night. Ron pulled the groggy Harry up. Harry rubbed his head and stared at the bed for a moment, unsure of what was happening, but still tired and needy for sleep. He looked around with his eyes and everything was so fuzzy. He put his glasses on and found Ron looking around for his Quidditch robe.

"Harry, you're making me turn into my mom." He kneeled down to look under Harry's bed to see if his robe was hidden there. He got up and folded his arms at Harry. "Where is your robe, Harry?"

Harry picked at his closed eyes. "Um… They're not here…" He stretched his arms, stood up, and went out the door, his feet already slipped into his shoes. Ron trailed behind, jumping off the ground in inches. 

"Harry, HARRY!" He grabbed Harry and shook his shoulder. "You have to go to Quidditch practice now! I heard that Oliver had a surprise for all of you." Ron seemed to be more enthusiastic about the surprise than Harry was.

"Surprise?" Harry pulled on his sweater and pulled a drawer open to get his cloak.

Ron nodded, leaning his elbows on the drawer top. He peered at him… "You haven't heard of the surprise?! Why, Oliver has been yacking and yacking his head off about it during breakfast a few mornings ago! You didn't remember because you were fantasizing of Hermione, weren't you now?" Ron nudged Harry in the arm.

Harry mumbled. "I wasn't _fantasizing_ about _Hermione_. I didn't notice that my Quidditch leader was babbling about some stupid surprise…" He pulled his cloak on and went to get his broom, the Firebolt.

Ron was practically yelling. Harry heard the portrait mutter, "Quiet down." Harry grinned as Ron kept babbling. "What do you mean a stupid surprise!? Harry! Ol' could bring you all finer brooms. Ones that will definitely slap the Slytherins in their faces. Literally, too!" Harry smiled.

"You think so?" He went over to the entrance and crawled out. Ron followed behind, of course, talking his head off again. The sugar has kept his sanity off tracks.

"Do I think so what?! Of course there could be such a broom! To slap Slytherins in their faces!" One second year Gryffindor looked at Ron and one six year Gryffindor laughed. Ron used his hands for the Quidditch players.

Harry looked around and noticed Hermione wasn't anywhere. She would usually follow Ron to get Harry up or some sort. Harry looked back at Ron who was waving his hands in the air.

"And this is you, Harry!" Ron shot his hand up into the air while the other hand drooped to his side. "And you'd catch the Snitch and we'd win! Kabaam!" Harry noticed Ron's wand shudder when Ron said kabaam.

"Ron, have you seen Hermione?" Harry plucked the wand from Ron's pocket and continued to the Quidditch yard. 

Ron forgot about his display of Qudditch players. He snatched his wand back and folded his arms. "Hermione? I have no idea where that smart brat is! She left me while I was coming to get you." Ron seemed to have lost all his hyperness and he stuck next to Harry as the two best friends carried themselves onto the field.

Harry went over to the Quidditch room to meet with the rest of his team while Ron climbed into the stands. He got his Gryffindor flag out and put his Gryffindor hat on. He looked around and no one else was there. He slouched in his seat.

While Ron was tending to his own dull troubles, Harry met with the other Quidditch team players. Oliver Wood was standing next to a large bag. Inside that bag would enhance the Gryffindor team with

1. Much speed

2. Much awe

3. And much much much power.

Oliver Wood told everyone to sit on the single bench and the two Weasley brothers (the beaters), Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell (the three Chasers), and Harry Potter (the Seeker) all pushed against each other to sit on the bench. Alicia Spinnet almost fell off the bench but Katie Bell caught her. Oliver Wood sighed and told everyone to stand up instead. Everyone stood up except Fred Weasley, who was sleeping on the bench. Oliver sighed again and turned his back to his team. Harry and George woke Fred up and Fred hurriedly stood up with the rest of the Quidditch team. Angelina coughed and Oliver turned around to find his Quidditch team standing like soldiers. He made a disturbed grin and shook his head.

"All right… Uh…" He looked at everyone and Fred slouched on one foot. Alicia nudged him and Fred straightened up again. Oliver took the large bag and stabbed it to the ground in front of him. "These… are the brand new brooms. Highly advanced. Don't ask me how I got them…" Someone coughed. Oliver opened up the bag by pulling a string and seven broomsticks with polished oak flew out of the bag by themselves. They simmered down and levitated over the floor. One of them slouched on its wispy part. It was the broom that was standing in front of Fred.

"These are the Imitators. They're quicker than the Firebolt, has more handling, and very precise on every Quidditch move there is. And they even have attitudes. They could even slap one of the Slytherins…"

Harry blinked. The broom that was standing in front of Harry stood on the ground just like Harry. It attempted to blink by moving its wispy end up and down. Instead, one of the sticks broke in half. 

"Be careful with them. They're just newborns. They're learning new ways by imitating their owners. They usually pick their owners by themselves. I don't know how or why, but they do.." An Imitator broom started to sweep the ground and Oliver grabbed it. "I guess this is mine. We'll go out today to practice on our brooms and teach it our moves. They learn easily… Supposedly."

Everyone took their brooms and the brooms squirmed in their hands.

"Oh, you can just let them float. They'll just follow you like dogs…" 

Everyone dropped their brooms. They floated on the ground and stood just like people next to their owners. The Quidditch players stepped onto the grass field and the scorching sun was high above their heads. Harry's eyes lowered onto the field to keep his eyes away from the sun. He found Ron in his seat, sleeping with his hat on his face. He walked over to the stands and his broom followed a few feet behind. He stepped onto the first row when Oliver Wood shouted to Harry.

"Harry! Get back here. Just leave Ron there…!" Oliver Wood trotted over to the three goal posts and hopped onto his broom. The broom sank into the air and then it levitated, carrying Oliver. He directed the broom towards the goalposts and they shot towards the goalposts. Oliver ducked as the broom zoomed below one of the hoops. Oliver swerved the broom onto the grass and he got off the broom and smacked it with his hand. The broom's front lowered with disappointment.

The chasers set themselves on the brooms and somehow, the brooms behaved quite better than Oliver's. The brooms carried the Chasers around with quick speed. Alicia dodged Fred with laughter. She turned the broom and flew back to the other Chasers.

Ron's eyes fluttered open and he took the Gryffindor cap off his face and rubbed his closed eyes. He opened his eyes only to find the blinding sun in his eyes. "AH!" He sat up and shook his head with his eyes squeezed shut. There was an illuminated dot and he pushed his fingers into his closed eyelids. He opened his eyes and saw most of the Gyrffindor Quidditch team flying on new broomsticks. He stood up on his seat and jumped up, waving the Gryffindor flag. 

"I KNEW IT!" He shouted. "I KNEW THAT OLIVER GOT NEW BROOMS!" He hooted and then sat back down. The heat had tired poor Ron and he fanned himself with the flag. 

"Is it hot today or what…?" George leaned against his broom, and Fred was on his broom, sleeping with his arms folded on the broomstick and his head on his arms. The broom floated in the shade of a large tree. Along with three other Chasers. Oliver threw the Quaffle at the Chasers and the Quaffle hit one of the trees.

"Oliver, it's too hot!" complained Katie. She took the Quaffle and Harry flew over to the shade as well. Oliver frowned. 

"I have practiced Quidditch in 100 degree weather!" He swerved his broom to the shade as well. He accidentally knocked into Fred's broom and Fred fell off. He woke up and spun around. 

"Who woke me from my sleep!?" He spun around again and noticed that he was in the Quidditch yard and not in his room. "Oh… Man." His broom hit the ground just as Fred did. George mumbled about his brother and spun his broom around. The Chasers watched with concerned eyes. Oliver grabbed Fred up and pushed him to his broom. 

"Get yourself back on the broom and wake up!"

"Wake up? Oliver, it's only six in the morning..." he groaned. Fred sat on his broom and the broom fell to the ground. Fred mumbled and held the broomstick with a hand and leaned against the tree.

Oliver mumbled under his breath. "And six o clock is when everyone gets up to practice, I say!" he hollered loudly. The Quidditch players moaned.

Harry flew his broom up and down in the shade and he took the Golden Snitch from the box. "You think Madam Hooch will let us practice near the trees? You know, in the shade..." He threw the Golden Snitch outside the shade and it disappeared. "Well, I gotta go get it…" He turned his broom towards the Golden Snitch and zoomed away on his quick broom.

Ron got up from the stands and yelled towards Harry. "I'M GONNA GO BACK INSIDE AND GET SOME ICE WATER! BEFORE I PASS OUT OR SOMETHING! WHO INVITED ME TO COME OUTSIDE, ANYWAY?!?!" he screamed. 

Harry flew over to Ron on his broom, stopped, stood on the seat next to Ron and hit the broom on the chair. "You did."

"… I did? Well, I'm going!" He hopped up from his seat, his flag left behind on his chair and his cap fell off his head when he walked down the stairs. Harry got back on his broom to catch the Golden Snitch. 

"Why can't you five be like Harry!?" Oliver pointed to Harry who was flying around in the shade. Of course, Harry knew the Golden Snitch wasn't in the shade because he already caught it! The Golden Snitch was in his scarlet sleeve and he smiled secretly, diving up and down in the shade pretending to look for the Golden Snitch.

"It's too hot, Oliver. Can't we just practice tomorrow? We can let the other houses practice here. Anyway, the Slytherins will probably melt in the sun," George said. He added, "That would be nice, too. That they melted, I mean."

Oliver sighed and turned his broom up and he shot into one of the tree branches. "Okay… Fine! Fine, fine, fine. No practice today. But tomorrow! Tomorrow, we will practice extra hard with extra determination to become the best Quidditch team there is!" He held up a finger.

Fred mumbled, "But we _are_ the best Quidditch team there is. Rather, the most determined leader in all of Quidditch history." He glanced at Oliver and started heading towards the school. "I'm going to get myself something to eat!"

Oliver stared at Fred as he left and he stamped his foot with anger, displeasure, and unbelievable-ness that a Quidditch player actually walked away like that! He looked at his team. 

"Come on, everyone… I guess we should get back inside."

The three Chasers, one of the Beaters, and the Keeper/Captain all headed into the school. George stopped before he came into the school and shouted to Harry, "Come on, Harry!"

Harry pulled the Golden Snitch out of his sleeve and George smiled. Harry got off his broom and ran towards the school building.

All the practice balls swerved back into the Quidditch room and they settled down into a box.

Harry stepped into the school building and a huge rush of cold air swept him so hard he nearly fell over. He sidestepped into the side of the door's frame and he slumped to the ground. He held his forehead with a hand. Moaning, Harry muttered.

Luckily for him, a person wearing some sort of green shirt and black pants came up to him. Harry didn't know if the person was a girl or a boy, his glasses couldn't focus his sight anymore. Everything was fuzzy and distorted. He mumbled, "Help." And the person took his arm. 

"Can you get up?" the person asked.

"No…" Harry fidgeted and pulled his arm away.

More figures started to surround the person and Harry became even more confused. Who were all these people and why wasn't Ron looking for him? He should've noticed Harry not being at the breakfast table. Harry shook all these questions from his head because it was starting to create a pain in his head. He blinked from behind his glasses and pulled them off. The people surrounded around him and pulled out wands. Harry couldn't hear what the spell was, but his body temperature sank down to a comfortable 90-degree temperature. Just then, Harry felt much better. He regained his sight when he put his glasses back on and his head felt more light instead of a brick. His eyes were focused onto the floor because they were still heavy. He stared at the floor and nothing else… He suddenly looked up to find groups of Slytherins, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors all heading towards the breakfast table. Everyone in each house was talking, laughing, and some even cried. But there wasn't anyone wearing green and black. And there wasn't any group at all. Everyone was too busy-like to help Harry. Where did those people go?

Harry got up and dismissed the idea of any thing unusual happening. Toady really wasn't his day to think of stuff like that. He was tired and was waken up in five thirty in the morning just to go out in vile heat to practice Quidditch. He couldn't find Hermione and he had a heat stroke. He started to think that probably the Hufflepuff group or some other house had helped him up. He had no idea, though. 

When he got up to tag along with his house, he hadn't notice the light shadows creeping up the hallway walls. And of course, no one noticed Harry's Imitator broom falling up and down onto the ground near the Quidditch yard. Of course, Madam Hooch saw the broom and took it. She went back into the Quidditch room and was going to talk to that Oliver Wood about violating Hogwart's Quidditch yard rules.

Harry stepped through the large doors and ran towards the Gryffindor breakfast table just in time for his mail. Owls flooded the room but Harry and Ron's owls hadn't come. They were at the owlery for a quick fix-up and weren't expecting mail until lunch. 

The room's ceiling's wall was clouded with a disgusting gray color.

He jumped and landed his bottom on the bench, forgetting about what had happened earlier when he saw Ron. Ron was cramming gravy into his mouth and he mumbled to Harry about dinner's dessert.

"I heard..." Ron swallowed. "From one of the Slytherins..." He crammed a biscuit into his mouth along with many other foods. Harry was unfortunately reminded of Dudley Dursley. "That they are going to have..." Ron chewed largely three times and swallowed. "Real Muggle ice cream!" He took the goblet of tea and drank it down with a long "Ah..."

Harry ate three slices of pie when Ron was talking and now it was his turn to talk and Ron's turn to eat more. "Well..." He looked at Ron with a raised eyebrow. "I never had any--"  
  
"YOU NEVER HAD ANY MUGGLE ICE CREAM!?" Ron stopped eating his pie and so did the four people around Harry (other than Ron, of course). Ron shook his eyes at the plate as if his head couldn't shake at all. "Harry, you lived... in a Muggle house and you--"

"You forgot about the Dursleys, didn't you?" Harry ate the last of the pie while Ron and the four other Gryffindors were staring at him. He gave everyone a look that said, "What?" It made everyone turn back to their conversation about Quidditch, crushes, and Ron's eyes went big.

"Ohhh... The Dursleys." He sneered. "And that Dudley! Always eating and eating, right?" He looked at Harry and then his eyes went big again. "Ohhh... Like meee..." He put down the third eaten pie and belched slightly. "Excuse me." He grinned.

Harry ate some eggs with a fork and he then stopped. "You're going to believe in the Slytherins? Are you sure?" He continued to eat his yellow and green eggs. 

"Well they were... in another conversation but I'm not--"

Hermione stamped towards them. "WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN!?" She held her plate in one hand and the other folded by itself. She gestured Harry to move over and he did slightly. Then she poked Jerry Shirch to move over. He did, slightly. She put the plate between Jerry and Harry's and she tried to sit down on the small space. Of course, Hermione was a small Muggle, everyone might say. She ended up squished between two wizards and she mumbled a bit. "Well, if I say so myself..." She squirmed here and there to relieve the uncomfortableness.

"You're starting to sound like McGonagall, Hermione." Ron scooted to his right and Harry did as well, giving Hermione some room. Hermione didn't know to either be thankful or upset. She mumbled again and threw a piece of her crust at Ron. Ron snatched it quickly and ate it. "Thanks, Hermione girl." 

Hermione groaned and ate her pie without part of the crust. She pushed the plate forward as if she was done and took a gulp full of iced tea. She nudged Harry who was drinking down milk. "Harry, did you hear?"

Harry shook his head with his eyes closed as the last of the milk drained into his mouth.

"One of the empty doors, you know, the ones we can't get into, has opened! Like it was a real door!" she hissed. Ron absolutely heard that.

"Hermione, are you serious?!" He splattered orange juice at Harry as he spoke. "Last night, George and Fred were walking around after hours, the dumb nuts, and they said they," He took a drink of tea. "Saw something black, like a shadow, they said, had actually walked out one of the doors."

Harry wiped orange juice off his cheek. Suddenly, all the memories of the people that had helped him sprung back at him. He blinked, not quite knowing what to do now. His first thought was that the group that helped him was the thing from the door, but maybe they weren't...? Maybe they were just good-hearted pupils at Hogwarts...

He was confused, shook his head, and decided he was going to tell Ron and Hermione about this later. Ron punched Harry in the arm. "What d'you think, Harry?"

Hermione shuffled in her seat, waiting to listen, too. Her arm pushed against the books that were next to her plate. No one knew how they got there... Sometimes, Hermione was as magical as the school itself.

Harry closed his eyes, trying to think up of a lie. "I... think... that the door... is probably one of Peeve's works..." He opened one of his eyes. Peeves was standing on the table, his ghostly foot stepped in Harry's food. Ron glared at Peeves.

"Did someone say my name?" Peeves said quite all knowingly.

"PEEVES! DON'T MAKE ME GET PERCY TO GET HEADLESS NICK TO GET THE BLOODY BARON AT YOU!" he screamed. Half of the table stared at Ron, amazed at his voice.

"Wow," whispered a one-year Gryffindor. His pet frog hopped from his plate into his goblet without having his owner, John Macmoon, yell at him to get out.

Peeves just smirked at Ron and threw a piece of pie at Ron. It hit Ron in the face and everyone in the room stared. Draco Malfoy and his friends couldn't help but laugh. Ron wiped his face clean with the napkin, embarrassed. Peeves smiled and threw pie at Malfoy and his friends, too. He started to laugh like them and everyone stared. Draco Malfoy had gone red behind the gooey pie on his face. His redness shown through the pie like shining a flashlight through your fingertip. His face flushed with red... Red as blood and he glared straight into the ghostly figure of Peeves.

Professor McGonagall exploded into the room, astounded that the tables were so quiet. She noticed Peeves standing on the Gryffndor table. She was huffing and puffing as she walked towards the snickering Peeves. She stamped down the line of the Gryffindors, her head down, eyes up, and her mouth in a firm line. She walked right up next to Harry, pulled him up, and pushed him aside. She stood on his seat, face to face with Peeves.

"Mr. Peeves, please refrain yourself from acting in this... this indispicable matter!" She was talking so fast and so loud that everyone, including Malfoy, remained silent. Harry was let to sit down on the Hufflepuff bench next to a tall girl and a plump boy.

Peeves just stared at McGonagall. "And what are you going to do, lady?"  


That blew it. McGonagall pulled out her wand and Dumbledore ran into the room, his napkin tucked into his shirt. He yelled at McGonagall to stop, but that didn't stop McGonagall. She muttered words and Peeves started to hit against the walls. Peeves made a dramatic display and screamed with "pain" whenever he hit the walls. Dumbledore jogged towards McGonagall and pulled her down.

  
"PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!" he screamed. "Of any matter I have seen at this school for years and you of all teachers to re--" He stopped because he has just noticed all the Hogwarts students staring at this bewildered scene. Dumbledore muttered at McGonagall to go into his office so they will speak. Dumbledore tore his wand out, waved it, and Peeves disappeared. He scratched his silver hair under his hat and looked at everyone through his half-moon glasses. He waved his wand and muttered a few words. He levitated into the air so everyone can see him.

"I am sorry for this to happen. I am also sorry for the attitude Professor McGonagall has held and I am sorry for Peeves' troubles. And I am sorry for this to disturb your breakfast," said Dumbledore with the most dreaded voice any human or monster heard. Dumbledore seemed dumbfounded and he said sorry again. His eyes lost all sparkles and they were filled with apologies for everyone instead. Everyone accepted his apologies. Everyone was nodding.

He gave everyone a large apologetic smile and he started to sink back to the floor. He quietly walked out the breakfast doors to go talk to Professor McGonagall. After he had turned a corner and disappeared, everyone waited for someone to break the silence. Draco Malfoy started to laugh but no one else did. His laughter flew through the walls as quickly as it came out of his mouth.

Harry quickly scuffled back to sit in his seat at the Gryffindor table and everyone started to eat their food again. Ron didn't. He was staring at where Peeves had put his foot in Harry's food. Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept quiet through breakfast and the next class was Herbology with Professor Sprout.

While everyone transferred from the tables to the classrooms, Hermione was talking about what had happened at breakfast.

"I think it wasn't Professor McGonagall's fault. I mean Peeves is really a huge trouble maker and he can really annoy someone off. And Dumbledore seemed really upset. Did you see how he looked?" She paused for an answer.

"He looked as if he couldn't do anything except repeat the word 'Sorry.'" Ron answered.

Harry couldn't answer at all, even though the incident at breakfast did surprise him and all of Hogwarts. He was too busy with the incident earlier, the one after Quidditch practice. His mind kept racing over what had happened, trying to make the unclear clear. And as the three walked up and down stairs towards the Herbology classroom, he kept searching for anyone or even something that had a green top and black bottoms. So far, no one had any of those on. But Hogwarts was huge so Harry had no idea. Maybe it was the things that came out the door... He thought and thought and opinioned everything. It was a mental debate and it was tiring him down. He gave a noticeable sigh and Hermione noticed it quickly.

"You okay, Harry? Been quite quiet, lately. Are you upset over that Peeves thing earlier? Don't worry your cute self--" Ron gave a snort. "--about that." She glared at Ron.

Ron started to laugh. "You like Harry, don't you?" He smiled. Ron was shaking because he was trying to hold the laughs inside of him. 

"I don't like Harry that way. I do mean, Harry is cute but I don't like him that way. He's my friend, Ron. And you mustn't be pleased that any girl has called you cute."

Ron frowned at that and he kept quiet for he knew that was true. 

Harry heard his name. "Hmm?" He looked at his friends as they entered the Herbology classroom. The three friends seated themselves on the desks. There was an empty seat left but it has always been like that since the first year for the three of them. Except the times Professor Sprout didn't need the desks.

Speaking of Professor Sprout, she got a new haircut and wore a colored but ugly hat today to show out the hair. It was a quite weird day today...

"Good morning, everyone!" Professor Sprout said, almost every morning. She smiled, tipped her ugly colorful hat at everyone, and put her elbows on her desk.

Harry raised his eyebrows at the hat and lowered them. He noticed a few other people raised their eyebrows, too.

"I see everyone noticed my hat..." She pushed her hat back and noticed everyone staring at her to begin the lesson. She pulled the hat off and one of the students quickly commented, "That's a nice hair cut. You shouldn't wear a hat over that, Professor Sprout."

Everyone turned to the person who spoke. The girl smiled and slouched into her chair.

"You had to think she was trying to get us some house points..." Ron muttered quietly under his breath. Harry smiled and Hermione nodded.

"Even though cheating is wrong, I guess... I won't... really mind, really," Hermione added.

Ron looked at her. "Really, like you'll not mind if Filch found out, will--"  


"Mr. Weasley, is that you speaking?" Professor Sprout leaned over her desk and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Did you mention something about Filch?" she asked with an all-knowing attitude.

Ron glared at Hermione. Hermione frowned and mouthed, "Sorry."

"Yes, Professor Sprout... I did..."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"Um..." Ron had gone red. "Because... I found Ms. Norris chasing a rat... instead of patrolling and I was going to tell Filch." Ron seemed to be really proud of himself because that lie seemed very true to him. Even to the Professor.

"Well, you should tell him after this class or... something." She ducked under her desk and pulled out a box of pots. "Today we will have a lesson about Janies. Janies are beans used for curing potions. They sprout orange tinted leaves if they are grown right, and purple tinted leaves if they aren't grown right." The pots began to float from the box and were put on each desk. Even the empty ones. "This week, you will be taught how to take care of Janies. And in reward for good leaves, fifty house points! It will be difficult. But, you will get twenty five points if your leaves turn orange and purple. Because orange and purple leaves mean that the bean is okay but needs a bit more care. Though, orange and purple leaves are normal... So, to begin with today's lesson, you will learn about the Janies."

How boring was it to sit in class and hear about your teacher talk about beans and bean leaves. Of course, Ron kept touching the pot's soil and Hermione kept bickering at him to stop. Professor Sprout had taken ten points because of the Hermione and Ron's noise but thanks to Hermione, the Gryffindor house earned thirty points due to answering questions about the Janies.

"If a Janie bean's leaves are turned to blue, what is happening?"

Hermione raised her hand. "The bean needs sun," she answered.

"Very good, Hermione! I see you have been reading much about these Janies, hmm?"

Hermione nodded. 

"Ten points for Gryffindor."

And so on went that class. Lectures and questions about the Janies. The class hadn't gotten a chance to start any physical lessons with them until tomorrow.

The class left into the hallway and so did many other large groups of people.

"What's next again?" Ron asked.

"Um..." Harry raked his mind. "I think its care for magical creatures with Hagrid today." 

"Oh, right..." Ron nodded and the Gryffindor house all packed into Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid walked into the classroom with a cage hid under a leather blanket. He cleared his throat and tossled at his hair. "I didn' get tah take a bath terday... So erm, mah 'air itches..." he explained. He gave his kind smile. "Ah, anyway..." Pulling the blanket off the cage, a sleeping animal slept in the shadow of the corner. Its leg twitched when the blanket was taken off. It was a small animal, the size of a normal tissue box. It had a fox head and the body had short hair. Its tail, on the other hand, was puffy. "Terday's aneemal is da Bano." He opened up the cage door and brought his hand inside it. There was a noise of scooping and Hagrid brought his hand out. In his hand was the Bano, still asleep. He held it close to him and stroked its head. "Da Banos are averagely dangerous, if yeh step inta der territoreh, ye'know."

And so on with that class. Ron almost got bitten by the Bano when Hagrid was teaching them how to handle them. Hermione almost got bitten by the Bano when Hagrid was teaching them how to feed them nuts. Harry almost got bitten by the Bano when Hagrid was teaching them how to pet it. Hagrid explained that the Banos can sense any sort of uncomfort. And when they do, they feel threatened and become agressive.

Hagrid waved to the Gryffindors when they left to the dining room to eat their lunch.

Hermione seemed to be a bit picky at lunch and especially after that Bano tried to bite her. She squirmed in her seat, muttering about Banos. 

"Well, I read in Explore Magical Creatures II that Banos don't bite unless they're pregnant. And if they aren't, and they still bite, then you get a disease that spreads itchiness through your body. Like chickenpox without the dots, you know?" Hermione took a drink of cherry flavored water from her goblet and placed it next to her empty plate. She only had an omelet and gobbled it down in ten minutes. "If that Bano had bitten us three, did you know what could've happened!?" she said quite urgently.

"We could've gotten an itchiness just like chicken pox except that we won't get the dots! You know?" Ron mocked. He sniggered and ate his hashbrowns.

"Yes! Exactly, Ron." She gave a sarcastic smile.

And quite out of no where, a Hogwarts student came over behind Harry. She was wearing a green T-shirt and black pants. She peered at Harry, who was munching on his omelet, for a long time. Hermione noticed the girl first.

"Hello." Hermione got up from her seat and shook the girl's hand. "I'm Hermione Granger. Are you a first year? I haven't seen your face before!"

Harry turned his head around to see why Hermione was acting so odd. He saw Hermione shaking a girl's hand and he didn't notice the color of the shirt and pants until two minutes had passed.

"Hello, Hermione." The girl glanced at Harry. "I'm Voltricia, and... no, I'm a first year at the Slytherins." She gave a sneer when she said Slytherin but smiled at Hermione. "Can I sit with you three?" She pushed Ron aside and sat next to Harry before any of them could answer. She pushed her plate in-between Harry and Ron's.

Hermione sat back down next to Harry.

Harry's heart felt light. Was she the one who helped him? But she was a Slytherin, so why would a Slytherin help him? Of all people, at least.

Voltricia kept staring at Harry, ignoring her food and Ron's complaining about how that was his seat she took over.

Harry sipped his soda from his goblet and he glanced at her, sensing she wanted to ask something she couldn't ask. He couldn't help feeling relieved that this girl could be the person who had helped him. "Yes?"  


"Are you the real Harry Potter?" she stared again. "You know that Draco Malfoy?" She rolled her eyes. "He's a real nut." She finally noticed her food and ate a biscuit. "He made you sound like you were some kind of stupid Muggle--" Harry heard Hermione cough. "-- that only came here because your 'parents' were... Dorsleys?"

"Dursleys..." Harry corrected with a disgusted voice.

"Yeah. He said that you only came here because they didn't love you?"

  
"They're not my parents." He stuffed a mushy pie into his mouth and chewed really slow as Voltricia talked.

"Well, he seems jealous, doesn't he? I mean, how can someone talk to a legend like you like that!?" She looked at him, who was still eating his pie. "I heard Draco was just jealous, which I agree with, of course."

Harry nodded as Voltricia was explaining his Muggle life to him. Of course, she mispronounced every name and insulted Muggles as well. Hermione coughed a lot and interrupted their conversation a few times. As the girl kept talking, Harry started to feel an annoyance towards Voltricia. He hated the Dursleys but he just reminded himself that Voltricia had no idea how he had felt about them. But still, he felt annoyed someone was refreshing every moment in his life. He also disliked the fact that she insulted Muggles. Especially since Hermione was there. 

Ron got up. "I'm going to check on my brothers." He excused himself from his seat and Harry tried to tell Ron to come back but his mouth was gooed together so his words sounded like, "Rof, umph ah!"

"Well, anyway," Voltricia scooted over to where Ron had last sat, and Harry watched Ron walk to an empty seat next to two three year Gryffindors. Ron looked around and Hermione just had so much pity for him, she got up herself and sat next to Ron at the end of the table. The two glanced at Harry for a second and they started talking. 

"Were those two your friends?" Voltricia asked. The plate of food had disappeared and Harry took a gulp of milk, which washed the pie down his mouth and into his throat. He nodded.

"Some friends, I say. I have a few friends at Ravenclaw and everyone at Slytherins just hates me. It's because I've been arguing with Draco." She stared at Ron's plate of food. "Mostly it's when he's talking behind people's backs. I just hate people like that. Don't you? Hey, mind if you sign my books?!" She pulled out the Potions book, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and another book that had the word, "Diary" written over the top. Harry shook his head and she dumped the books back into her bag with a frown on her face.

This girl started to seriously annoy Harry with all the babbling and he hoped she wasn't the one who saved him. Though, she seemed quite attracted to him. She looked quite disappointed that there was no conversation going on. Just then, two owls flew in from the owlery door. A few people stared to see what was going on (Mostly first years that never expected owls to send mail so late). One very tired-looking owl dragged himself over to Ron and dropped an envelope into his lap and fell onto the table with a heap. Hedwig glided above the Gryffindor's table and landed on Harry's head. She stamped her spiky and ticklish claws on his head and turned around. She dropped a letter on his lap and the return address was signed by Oliver Wood. He took it and stuffed it into his pant's pocket.

"What was that? Can I see that? And is that your owl? How come your owl came in this late?" She tried to pick the envelope from his pocket and Harry scooted away. She took the message and seemed to distant herself from him. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, and they were already leaving. It seemed like today was Friday the Thir--

"What day is today?" Harry quickly asked.

"You forgot? It's Friday the Thirteenth! Is it your birthday? Isn't it July... twenty-first? Oh, I forgot! I do happen to have your biography book but I read it before a studies book that made me forget everything in your biography book. Well, I remember the first part because it was easy to remember and read. Then my dog gnawed on it and ruined half of the book! Did you write it? Well, I don't think so and -- Hey!" Hedwig had started to eat at her shoe and Voltricia stepped onto Hedwig's wing. Hedwig screeched and let go. Harry ducked under the table, took Hedwig and left the table, Voltricia dragging behind. Harry turned to Voltricia.

"Leave me alone!" he screamed.

She looked takenaback at this and ran back to the Slytherin table. He looked back just to see her reaction and he saw her shoulders shaking, her head beneath her arms, and a Slytherin patting her back. He carried Hedwig over to the Owlery. 

After Hedwig was going to be taken care of, lunch was already over. The next class was Muggle Studies. It was already two o'clock and after the bell rang, it was time for everyone to eat dinner in the Great Hall. Harry decided to tell Hermione and Ron about what had happened earlier.

After Harry had told Hermione and Ron about what had happened, Hermione leaned back saying, "Oh."

Ron blinked. "So that's why you were talking to that Slytherin girl!" He gave a sigh of relief. "Hermione and I thought you were somehow ignoring us..." Ron glanced at Hermione who had gone a peach red. 

"She stepped on Hedwig's wing... So now Hedwig needs to fly shorter lengths." Harry slurped the spoonful of porridge into his mouth. "And she kept bugging me like Colin."

"Hehe. Colin just likes you because you're a celebrity. Imagine when you're older, Harry. You'll have all these girls flourishing to your house. Some might even try to break in. You'll have to get Draco's friends to be your security guards and Draco could be your butler," Ron said, his eyes glinting. It was a dream he would love to see.

Hermione ate part of a fish. "Well, anyway, today is Friday the thirteenth. So those people could've been anyone..." She ate part of the fish again. "I think in the book Shadows Seen, it mentions people who had hallucinations--"

"I wasn't having a hallucination, Hermione. Someone helped me," Harry said sharply.

"Yeah. By now, why, everything we've been through, Hermione, you've ought to figure out... When Harry has something odd happening to him, it's not something to be excused from a book!"

"Would you just let me continue?" Hermione piped. Ron and Harry sighed. "Had hallucinations throughout the whole day. And later, they found out it was shadows of ghosts. Like Headless Nick. Except they weren't that famous. They're just normal good-hearted wizard ghosts."

Harry let that sink into his mind.

"But after examinations from experienced wizards who studied ghosts, it was the work of normal alive wizards! They used a rare potion found in the woods. Supposedly, it was one of you-know-who's work when he wasn't that... um... evil."

"Harry! HARRY!" Someone no one knew, not even Dumbledore, who had risen up from his chair, had bolted into the Great Hall clutching a roll of parchment. "HARRY!" Somehow, the person knew where Harry sat and he tossed the parchment at Harry. It landed on the floor. Suddenly, he dropped to the floor as well, melted through the pavement, and when the last of the man had disappeared under the gray cold ground, a small harmless bomb had gone off in the parchment. Harry was just about to pick it up but snatched his whole body back when the bomb had gone off. The whole school of Hogwarts screamed and everyone got up from their seats while Dumbledore was asking the prefects for assistant to keep everyone quiet. The teachers and prefects rustled around the house tables trying to keep everyone quiet. Ron heard Draco scream from the Slytherin table and he couldn't help but grin.

"Here we go again," Ron muttered. Everyone shushed down until the last of the whispers disappeared long forgotten. The professors all gathered around where the bomb had gone off.

"Clearly the work of a prankster..." observed Professor McGonagall. She was narrowing her eyes towards the floor.

"Most devious work of all..." mumbled Professor Sprout. She was prodding her wand at the place where the man had mysteriously sank into the ground.

"We must check under this ground." Dumbledore waved his hand and two prefects scurried off to check what was below the Great Hall's floor. Their faces were plastered with scared looks.

Just when all the faculty had scurried around the floor, Harry just happened to look out the Great Hall doors to see a shadow creep up against the wall. He leaned back into the table and pulled on Hermione and Ron's sleeves.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"He probably stepped in some goo that guy left behind," Ron said.

"I saw something outside..." Harry's voice dropped at the end of his sentence. He started to get up, but he knocked into Professor Snape. Harry quickly sat back down. Snape stood up facing Harry.

"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Potter?" Snape stared at him. "You're going to have a talk. Stay put." He gave Harry his cold look with his cold, gray eyes and crouched back below to follow the gaze of other teachers.

Harry knew from that look that he shouldn't go anywhere.

"Oh, put up, put up," whispered Ron. Ron pretended to kick Snape in the back while he was crouched on his legs. None of the teachers saw, for they all had their faces pressed close to the ground, but they kept their faces away in a safe distant, somehow afraid if they had leaned any more forward, they would've been sucked through the ground just like that man had.

Hermione furrowed her brows when she noticed Snape's eyes glinting towards its corners, looking at Ron and Harry. Just when Snape was about to get up, Dumbledore stood up. Snape crouched back to the ground, staring intently at the ground as if Ron or Harry was the ground and his eyes was a strong beam that could penetrate anything in sight.

"Your prefects will escort you back to your common rooms and if your prefect is not here, then your head teacher will lead you all back."

The students who were far from the scene groaned. They didn't get to see what happened and wanted to see the floor, at least.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin prefects led the students into their common rooms while the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw headteachers guided the students to their common rooms.

All the Gryffindors crawled into the room and felt a wave of heat as a fire sparked in the fireplace. Everyone took a seat and some started games of chess. Harry, Ron, and Hermione pushed their over-sized chairs near the fire. Percy headed to the three huddled chairs and tapped Ron's head.

"Ron, push the chairs back to where they were. Same with you two, Harry and Hermon," Percy said, without the slightest knowledge that he had mispronounced Hermione's name.

"It's Hermione," she said.

"Oh. Sorry, Hermione. But the chairs can't be moved to the fireplace. We're in caution that the chairs will catch on fire." Percy cleared his throat and directed his eyes to Fred and George who were painting a sleeping fifth year's face. "Like at their first year..." Percy mumbled when he looked back to the three. "Well? Get your move on!"

"You're more bossy after you had that girlfriend of yours." Ron got up from his seat and pushed his chair back to where it was.

Hermione quickly grinned, holding a giggle and pulled her chair next to Ron's. Percy looked at Harry.

"... How did he know that I had a girlfriend...?" asked Percy, looking quite dumbfounded.

"Um... Shouldn't you worry more about Fred and George than how Ron knows about your girlfriend?" Harry gave him an all-knowing look and pulled his chair next to Ron. Percy shook his head and marched towards Fred and George who were about to throw food at a third year.

"Why am I always in the middle?" Ron asked with an uptoned voice as Hermione and Harry sat in their seats. "I don't want to be in the middle! Hermione, change-- No! Harry, you change seats with me. I think Hermione would just love to have her crush--"

"I do not have a crush on Harry!" squealed Hermione. She pushed Ron's head and it bumped into the chair. "I certainly do not!"

Harry and Ron exchanged seats and Harry purposely sat an inch farther away from Hermione. He wouldn't want one of his good friends to have a crush on him. He pushed his glasses up, which were slipping down the ridge of his nose. The fire was crackling between the pauses of voices. Everyone in the common room were talking about what had happened and some said that you-know-who has returned again.

"Oh yeah!" Ron looked towards Harry. "About that thing you saw during dinner, what did you see?" Ron glanced at Hermione.

Hermione glared at Ron. "And why do you keep glancing at me?!"

"Because there's something hanging off your teeth." Ron smiled.

Hermione frowned and leaned into her chair, holding her hand over her mouth as she desperately tried to pick between her teeth. Of course, there was nothing there.

"It was a shadow..." Harry scratched his head, unhooked his cape and set it on his lap. "But it was huge, Ron. It was even bigger than Hagrid or his shadow. I really don't know what it was..." He sighed and Hermione had noticed Ron was grinning at Hermione when she noticed nothing was hanging off her teeth.

"It was probably just a rat. The candlelight probably made its shadow big..." Hermione insisted. "Don't worry, it's Friday the Thirteenth! Lots of bad and weird things happen on this day." She moved in her seat. "One time, it was Friday the Thirteenth at my house and I fell down three times. I was only five, so I can't remember the pain. Mom said I was extremely clumsy that day."

"Is that why you--"  
  
"Don't. Insult. Me. Again, Ron. Weasley." Hermione glowered.

While the two were bickering at each other again, Harry stared into the fire, thinking. Suddenly, a Potions book dropped onto Harry's lap and Hermione was standing in front of him. He looked around and noticed everyone was gone.

"Page hundred and thirty-six."

Harry rubbed his eyes, his glasses making strange ticking noises as he rubbed. He pulled open the book to page 163 and on the top of the page read in bold letters:

Shadows be-gone!

"What's this about?" Harry looked up at Hermione who was smirking. 

"Harry...? Harry!"

Harry shot up from his seat and turned around to find his friends staring at him. He narrowed his eyes at them.

There was a pile of candy wrappers on the table next to Ron's chair. Hermione was flipping through pages of the divination book. There was a table in front of Hermione and a parchment, ink, and a feather quill, was set on it. Ron had stopped looking at Hermione's homework when she glared at him.

"You okay? You fell asleep while you were 'thinking,' Hehe; you look kind of funny when you sleep. You were like..." Ron slouched low into his chair and snored with his mouth open. Harry hit his head with his wand, a bit embarrassed, and Ron sat up, yawning. He pushed himself up with his arms and headed towards the dormitory. "I'm gonna go to sleep," he shouted behind.

"Night," said Hermione.

Ron disappeared in the room and Harry sat back down, slouched in his chair, playing around with his cape's strings. Hermione looked at Harry.

"You tired? You look like you've been staying awake the couple of days." Hermione looked towards the dying fire.

"I was just thinking about what happened earlier after the Quidditch thing," Harry mumbled. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep but something inside of him wanted him to stay up. 

"That? You really shouldn't worry about it. It was probably one of the other houses who had helped you. Anyway, remember today _is_ the friday of thirteenth. And you shouldn't go around Hogwarts searching for it. I'm not even sure _what_ that shadow is..." She closed her books and gathered her stuff into her bag. "We should really get to sleep." She pushed the table next to her chair and got up. She nodded towards Percy, George, and Fred who were sleeping in three chairs by the fire.

"What were they doing?" Harry asked, who had gotten up himself.

"Fred and George kept putting stupid prank jokes on everyone and Percy had to chase them around the room. That's kind of why the chairs look misplaced." She sighed. "George almost knocked over my ink which could've ruined all my homework! And you should really untie your shoes..."

Harry looked down and saw his shoelaces were tied together. He untied them.

"Well, I really should get some sleep. It's ten." She walked up the stairs to her room. "Night, Harry."

She had disappeared before Harry had a chance to say good night. He gripped his cape and rubbed it against his face. He stared into the fire and tossed a piece of paper that Hermione left over into the fireplace. The dying flames wrapped around the piece of paper selfishly but the fire regained life and went ablaze again. Harry stepped up the stairs, his boots clunking on the stairs. He sighed, peeling open his room's door and stepped inside. He tossed the cape on his bed, pushing his boots off with his feet, lied down, set his glasses off his eyes, and smiled that the Friday of Thirteenth was finally over. He turned over and went to sleep.

A shadow slipped through beneath the door and it ran up the side of Harry's bed. It closed over his blanket and slowly came nearer to his head. It swept over his head and laid there through the night. 

Harry had a dream... The people that had helped him, they were clearer than ever, were standing next to Tom Riddle. They were smiling, some even cackled like a black crow. And Harry was sitting on the floor, a little baby, wrapped in a fluffy blanket. The present Harry stood aside watching this as Tom Riddle took out his wand. There was a flash of green along with the vile yell of triumph and Harry's dream ended there. Unfortunately, this dream was long forgotten as the day started to come.

The sun peeped over the tree tops and the sunrays flew across the land and through each window in Hogwarts. The teachers awoke with a dash of lightning. On the other hand, the students, most of them groggy, got up to get to the Great Hall to eat. As the doors flung open, all the students were wide awake to the fresh new smells of breakfast. Bowls were lined up on the tables and suddenly a stench started to replace the fresh new smells. A few students had turned around, holding their noses and looked as if they were about to puke. They pushed past Slytherins to get to the nearest bathroom. One person even puked in a statue and he had turned red. A painting had to dodge out of the picture frame to prevent himself of watching someone puke below his painting.

"What's that _smell_?!" Fred said with disgust as he walked into the Great Hall. He stepped back.

George handed Fred some mint deoderant and Fred snatched it, threw it at George, and George snickered.

All of the school filed into the Great Hall with great disaproval. No one wanted to sit in a room with such a horrible stench. Harry and Ron sat in the Gryffindor table and yet again, Hermione had disappeared.

The ceiling regained its starry night and the constellations were vibrating.

Ron stared at the bowl of gray sludge and he poked it with his spoon. There was a gurglish sound and the sludge wrapped up around Ron's spoon and pulled it beneath the surface. Ron stared at it.

"COOL!" He started to stick stuff from the table into the sludge and the sludge had taken whatever Ron decided was amusing to watch being taken beneath the surface.

Harry sniffed the sludge and he scrunched his face up and dropped the spoon into the sludge as the sludge wrapped itself around the spoon. He sighed, and looked towards Ron who was slurping some of the sludge.

He vomited it out into the bowl.

"Ew!" exclaimed half of the Gryffindor table. Someone else on the same row as Ron had vomited into the bowl as well.

"THIS IS HORRIBLE!" Ron pushed the bowl as far as away as his arm can go.

"Why did you even try and eat it?" Harry asked shakily, but grinning with amusement.

"Well, I wanted to see if it was even _good_. Guess not." Ron gulped all the punch from his goblet and set it down on the table. The Ravenclaw table were hollering with disgusted words and a few people got up from their tables to go to the bathroom. Hermione dashed through the doors and sat down next to Harry. She was panting.

"Where were you?" asked Harry.

"I had -- to -- get -- this!" She pulled out her rolls and rolls of homework. "I nearly forgotten it!" she exclaimed, hugging her homework like a teddy bear.

Ron raised his eyebrow.

"Well, you shouldn't eat any of that... _stuff_. Whatever it is," said Harry who had decided to eat crackers instead.

Hermione had just happened to notice the stench of the sludge and she gasped, her homework dropping from her arms.

"What!? Did you forget your other trunk-full of homework? You do know, I can help you car--"

"Where's Dumbledore?!" Hermione got up, looking around. "Where's all the teachers!?"

Harry looked at the staff table and all the teachers were gone. The only thing there was Mrs. Norris. She paraded around the table top and hopped off the table. She started to run out the door, her fur standing on its ends. Harry and Ron looked at Hermione who had pushed her books frantically into her bag. She leaped from her seat and ran out the door, following Mrs. Norris. Harry and Ron followed her and tagged next to her as she turned a corner.

"Hermione, what d'you think you're doing!? If that cat catches us we're going to be expelled!" hissed Ron.

"No we're not. That's _not_ Mrs. Norris," said Hermione.

"What? She looks like Mrs. Norris!" hissed Ron again.

They turned another corner.

"But what if the real Mrs. Norris catches us?" whispered Harry.

"Then we're doomed..." said Ron dramatically.

Hermione stopped walking and turned around, glaring at the two. "Just follow the stupid cat!"

"What cat?" Ron said.

Hermione flung her head behind her shoulder and the cat had disappeared. She glared at the two again and started heading back to the Great Hall. Ron looked at Harry and Harry looked back, both faces stamped with confused looks.

"You do know we could've find that cat, Hermione." Ron stopped walking. Then he turned to Hermione. "THAT WAS THAT STUPID CAT, CROOKSHANKS, WASN'T IT! Hermione! You let your cat out of the COMMON ROOM!?"

"What? Why's that so _bad_?"

"THAT'S AGAINST THE RULES!" hollered Ron.

"I never expected you to say that," said Hermione. 

"Me either. Are you sick, Ron?" Harry pressed his hand on Ron's forehead.

Ron smacked his hand away, a frown on his face. "I am _not_ sick. I just don't like that _cat_. And I don't want it running around the place." He started to walk back to the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione followed behind.

"I was just trying to catch her," mumbled Hermione. "Didn't have to follow me."

They entered the Great Hall and sat back down. Their bowls disappeared already and crackers were left on their plates. Hermione ate a cracker when Peeves came into the Great Hall wearing Professor Dumbledore's robes. He had a cheesy smile on his face and walked ghostly (his feet kept disappearing and reappearing into the ground) over to the staff table. He sat down in Dumbledore's chair while half of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff table turned their heads to look at Peeves. He was smiling then bellowed out, "What are _you_ looking at! Get back eating your sludge or I'll knock your heads off!"

Nobody turned away except Neville, who had gone red.

"Where's Dumbledore?" asked Hermione. Her voice seemed to be turned up a bit.

"Dumbledore? Why, Dumbledore's right here!" Peeves pulled on his robes, smiling brightly. "And did you just talk without raising your hand!?" he added with an uproar.

"We _mean_ the _real_ Headmaster Albus Dumbledore."

And just that moment, Dumbledore had arrived. He was in his nightly PJs, ropes wrapped around each arm and a rope over his shoulder that tied around his left ankle. He tore off the ropes with difficulty and he seemed to have fumbled when he put his half-moon glasses on. His eyes seemed to be more alive then ever. He walked over to Peeves as calm as he can be (or what it seemed).

"Peeves?"

"Who's Peeves? And who are _you_?" Peeves squinted his eyes at Dumbledore. He was smiling with laughter. Clearly anyone would notice.

"Peeves... Give me my robes back," said Dumbledore firmly. He was smiling, trying to keep his annoyances inside of him.

"I don't know _who_ you're talking about!" exclaimed Peeves, who raised from his seat. He was staring straight at Dumbledore, eye-to-eye. Dumbledore smiled and whispered something nobody in the tables could hear. Peeves leaned back into his chair and took the robes off, threw it at Dumbledore, and walked through the table and out the door, slamming it behind him. Dumbledore put his long robe over his PJs and sat back down in his chair, smiling at everyone who was staring at him.

"I've seen that Peeves really had his day?" He smiled. "I'm sorry about the food Peeves replaced so for dinner, we're having ice cream. Not any ice cream... _Muggle_ ice cream!" he said brightly like a child.

There were cheers from all tables and everyone started to talk wildly again.

"Muggle ice cream! Can't wait to tell dad. He'll go nuts and fly over here just to take a sample of left over ice cream." Ron looked over to the Slytherin table. Draco seemed to be frowning and talking furiously to Crabbe and Goyle. "I guess Dumbledore ruined their plans. How sad..." Ron smiled.

"I can't believe Peeves would do that, though," said Harry, a bit angrily.

"Ah, don't mind! Dumbledore doesn't seem to be worried about it." Ron nodded towards the Staff table and Dumbledore was happily away, slurping spaghetti.

The day seemed to have been going good. Professor Sprout let them plant the Janie beans. She forgot to tell them -- "Oh! They jump, so when you put them in the soil, put a rock over it!" Small rocks the size of soda-can bottoms flew around the classrooms. Harry caught the rock and pushed it into the soil, covering the dirt and bean, which was furiously jumping against the rock.

"Once they settle in, they calm down. And once they mature, they stop and grow roots, then leaves will sprout! This will take place in atleast two weeks." She nodded. "So take your watering can..." Everyone took their watering cans. "Pour all the water into the soil. The Janie beans love water." They tilted the cans and water kept pouring out the spout for two minutes. Ron had trouble gripping his watering can after a minute passed. "Good good! Now, I want all of you all to take in a deep breath." In a puzzled way, everyone (except Hermione, who had known everything there was to planting Janies) took in a deep breath. "Now, breathe out to the dirt." Everyone leaned forward and sighed to the rock that was over the bean. "Good! Excellent, everyone!" And so on went with that class. The pots were put on a counter beside one of the walls, with everyone's names labeled on the pots. A few people's seeds were bumping so hard against the rock, the rock was bouncing up and down.

Throughout the day, throughout lunch, throughout the tiring Quidditch practice, Harry had waited for the ice cream. It was his first time eating Muggle ice cream and he couldn't wait any longer. As dinner was just approaching, the sun settled in the horizon opposite of the Forbidden Forest. After a very furious and irritating class with the Potions teacher, Snape, the ice cream would have cured all the evil things that happened that day, the day before, and maybe the day before that. All the Hogwarts students rushed from each class to the Great Hall. People filed into their seats in the tables and the teachers were all in the Staff table. According to McGonagall, the teachers weren't there at breakfast because there was a special meeting in the Staff room.

Harry was cramming all the food into his mouth that he didn't have time to talk to Ron or Hermione. Ron was too busy scuffing food into his mouth and Hermione was busily reading her Janies book while eating clam chowder.

"I'm done with my main dish!" said Ron triumphantly. He looked over at Harry who was drinking from his goblet.

"Me too..." Harry watched as his plate disappeared and with a faint pop, a bowl of ice cream replaced it. A silver spoon laid in it and the ice cream started to melt along the sides. Harry took a scoop of vanilla ice cream with his spoon and ate it. Did it have taste? It was delicious and coated with sugar. Harry quickly ate more ice cream after the first spoonful. There was a clang next to him and Harry looked at Ron's already-empty bowl. Ron was looking around for more ice cream as the remnants of the ice cream disappeared. In replacement, and for Ron's great joy, chocolate and strawberry ice cream filled the bowl again.

"This is the best day of my life!" Ron said happily as he ate the ice cream.

Hermione was eating the ice cream faster than Ron was and she was nearly done with her second bowl. She tilted the bowl up so the melted remaints drained into her mouth. She set the bowl down. "Ah..." She set the bowl down as it disappeared.

"Wow, Hermione, you eat like a pig!"

Hermione smacked the back of his head. Ron made a choking noise. He dropped the spoon in his empty bowl. "You almost killed me!"

Hermione rolled her eyes; Harry chocked with laughter.

"And you're killing Harry, too!" Ron patted Harry's back, accusingly glaring at Hermione. She shot him a look that made him sit back in his seat. He smiled to Hermione, and to Harry and Ron's amazement, she smiled back. Her face suddenly flushed red.

"What!?" cried Hermione defensively.

"You just flirted with Ron..." Harry said. How was that supposed to happen? Hermione flirting with Ron? They were good friends and now going past it?! Crazy, thought Harry.

"I was _not_ flirting with _Ron._"

"Good, 'cause you Mudbloods don't need to mix your filthy blood with ours," said a voice that made Ron stand up. "Don't try to hurt me, Mudblood lover." Harry had got up with Ron. Draco was smirking in between Crabbe and Goyle. The two highly over-muscled boys sniggered to Draco's previous comment.

"Oh, now _really._" Hermione got up and faced Draco. "The filthy blooded one here is only you, Malfoy." It wasn't the words that shocked Draco. It was her voice. There was a threat alongside the comeback and Draco only pushed it aside.

"What are you going to do, Mudbloo--"

"Call her a Mudblood one more time and you're going to end up in a bloody pulp," growled Ron who was advancing on Draco.

Hermione pulled him back.

"She's more a wizard that you are, Malfoy. More of a wizard than you and your family put together," sneered Harry. He felt his fingers on his wand.

"What was that, Potter? My family?" Draco smiled innocently. "You better be glad Voldemort killed your parents. They weren't what they seemed, you know. The little bastards they were, really..." Ron pulled against Hermione's hold. Harry's face burned with anger as he tore his wand out and pointed it at Draco.

"AVADA--"

Someone snatched Harry's wand away. Harry turned in a hot fever. It was Professor Snape.

"What are you doing, Potter!?" Professor Snape was staring intently at Harry. "Were you casting an instant killing spell on _Draco Malfoy?_" He looked furious at Harry, put the wand into his pocket, and grabbed Harry's collar. "Come with me. Directly." He turned behind and motioned Professor McGonagall to come with him. She looked confused at Snape. Snape mouthed "Potter." She got up and walked down the Hall to Snape and Harry. "Take Draco, McGonagall, if you will." McGonagall took Draco and the four went out the doors and down a staircase to an empty corridor. Draco and Harry seated in two desks the most farthest apart. 

"What is it, Severus?"

"Harry here was about to cast a killing spell on Draco. Avada Kedavra."

McGonagall's eyes widened and she stared at Harry. She seemed speechless while Draco was smirking. Draco was sure Harry'd get the detention of a lifetime. "Why, Harry?"

Harry was glad that he had a chance to defend himself. "Draco was insulting Muggles in front of Hermione and made remarks towards me." He didn't want to talk about his parents. It would only embarass him.

"What kind of remarks?" inquired Snape while McGonagall was looking at Draco and Harry back and forth. Her mouth was hanging open. Harry, who was closer to McGonagall, could hear her whisper, "But why...?"

"He um..."

Draco glared at Harry.

"He was using the word Mudblood a lot--" McGonagall stared at Draco. "And he insulted my... um... parents." Snape looked at Draco almost affectionately.

"He... did?" McGonagall sat down on the desk while Snape was smiling. "This is... Detention! Of course, Harry, you were about to cast a killing spell on Draco! And Draco! Of any behaviors, and all reputations, you had to use the word Mudblood. In front of a Muggle, too! This is serious, Severus. Detention it is. Both of you. I want you both to be back in your common rooms and if I hear any more fights, there's going to be more than detention." Her voice was sharp and firm.

Harry and Draco got up.

"My wand," Harry remembered. He looked at Snape who didn't seem to pay attention. After a few moments, he spoke.

"What wand?"

"My wand you took," said Harry.

"You won't be seeing your wand soon."  
  
"But I need it--"

"It will be given to you tomorrow morning before any classes. And Draco, give me your wand as well," snapped McGonagall. She held her hand out and Draco reluctantly handed her his wand.

"You'll hear from my father," he whispered menancingly as he left the room.

"I suggest you catch up with the rest of your friends, Mr. Potter." McGonagall gave him a smile. "Go."

Harry instantly left and rushed to the common room, the Fat Lady merely paying attention (she was half asleep) and opened the portrait. Harry climbed in to find Ron and Hermione sitting in chairs on different sides of the room.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled.

"Harry, come here!" Ron yelled.

__

I'm not a dog_,_ Harry thought. Hermione and Ron got up and walked over to him. "What happened?" they asked in unison.

"Detention... Long time." Harry sat in a chair and the padding sank down. Hermione and Ron had sat next to him on both sides.

"What happened to Draco?"

"Same thing..."

"Same thing!? He should be expelled!" hollered Ron. "Did you hear what he _said?_ If I were McGonagall or Snape, Draco'd be crying for his dad to fire me."

Harry smiled. After the ice cream and McGonagall and Snape, he felt a bit hyper. "Hehe, he said, 'You'll be hearing from my father,'" Harry said with a mocked voice of Draco.

"Hehe. Really, did he? I bet his father would be proud that his son got away with murder." Ron looked to Hermione, who was staring at the fire again. "What are you thinking of, Herm? Harry? He's right here, why don't you give him a kissy poo?"

"What?" she said with anger. "Give Harry a kissy poo?"  


"That's right."

"You do know I'm... right here?" inclined Harry.

Ron laughed while Hermione muttered, "Guys..."

"Oh! Tomorrow, we're having that Muggle thing, Ouija board, for Professor Trelawney's class!" Ron said happily. "I might even admit this, but I can't wait. I heard _all_ these stories from Muggles in the Muggle world about that board. Said that they talked to dead people. Ghosts, really. I think it's rubbish. I mean, come on, a board that talks to you?"

"I agree, Ron, but I had a personal... experience with an Ouija board before..." Hermione looked away.

"Is that so? What happened?" Harry asked.

"Nothing..."

"Oh, come on, don't be an ass!"

Hermione shot Ron a look. "Don't call me an ass, Ron Weasley."  
  
"Only if you tell us what happened..." Ron smiled.

"Fine..." She leaned forward in her chair. "When I went to camp when I was nine, my camp buddies brought an Ouija board... For fun... You know? And so we played with it this one night and it got all the questions right. One of my friends, Jordan, asked the board if anything bad would happen tomorrow... The board said yes. And did you know what happened?"

Ron and Harry shook their heads.

"Jordan ended up nearly drowning in the lake the next day. She couldn't swim but someone accidentally pushed her in and no one noticed until they couldn't see any air bubbles..." She leaned back. "And someone asked the board if there was a killer at the camp, just for fun, no one really took the board seriously, and the board said yes."

Harry's eyes went big.

"The next day, one of the older camp boys, came back with a dead rabbit in his hands. He killed it with a gun and said it was for gaming... After the day, the person who brought the board burned it. She regretted bringing the thing to camp." Hermione stared towards the fire. "And I asked the board out of curiosity, and I was reading this tremendously great book --"  
  
"Obvious, she even reads books during camp," Ron said.

Hermione didn't seemed to notice. "-- that was about magic. So I asked the board if there really was magic and the triangle piece spun around and flew to the Yes faster than our fingers could hold onto it... And when I got home, my parents announced that I was going to Hogwarts." She scratched her ear. "There. Now would you stop calling me an ass?"

Ron nodded.

Harry and Ron leaned back into their chairs. "Do you think it'll predict my death? Or will Trelawney already do it for me about the dozenth time?" 

"I would have to go with C, Ron, Trelawney will predict your future."

  
"And you are correct, Mr. Potter!" Ron laughed. "And here's your million galleons." Ron took one of Hermione's piece of homework and handed it to Harry.

"Hey!" Hermione snatched it back too fast. The paper ripped in half.

"... Oops?" Ron sank into his chair and knew what was coming. "Too bad for Trelawney, I think anyone can predict my death now." Ron glanced at Hermione who flipped through a book for a spell to glue the paper together.

"Tolue!" She tapped the two halves and they glued back together in one, but you could still see the tears. "Oh well, better than nothing I suppose..." She put it back in her bag, gave Ron a glare with a quick grin (which made Harry say, "You're flirting!"), and leaned back.

Ron gave a big smile and his ears went red as his hair. He whispered to Harry while Hermione was busy writing an essay. "I think she fancies me." He winked at Hermione who only rolled her eyes.

"I think it's an act of friendliness," inclined Harry.

"You think so? You've been saying she's flirting the whole day!" Ron smoothed down his hair. "Really, Harry, you shouldn't get so jealous." He smirked and Harry rolled his eyes and looked to Hermione who was talking to another girl. Harry wondered who the girl was, but then something hit him. It was... sleepiness. He looked towards the clock and it was ten.

He told Ron he was going to sleep and went up the rounding staircase to his room. His shoes clunked and clanked against the stone. He glanced to his left and saw Hermione pushing Ron away from her. He smiled and went back up the stairs, the common room disappearing under his feet. He got under his covers and stared up at the towering ceiling.

As night felland day replaced it, Professor Trelawney was awaiting her students up in her attic. Hermione had already left towards her own class (She wasn't taking Divination) and given Harry and Ron each little lectures about Ouija boards.

"Now, if nothing happens, that's all right, though!" Hermione said with a lightened voice.

"Yeah, yeah, Hermione, we gotta get going. See you," Harry said. He walked up into the attic, Ron following behind.

After a few years being in the classroom, the scent of different aromas and candles were familiar like air. The fire was raging with a hint of purple. Professor Trelawney was seated in her usual seat, a board with letters, numbers, and a "yes" and "no" on the corners was placed in front of her. There was a planchette (Author's note: Planchette's that triangle piece... Thanks, Nikki!) on the board.

"Sit down, sit down!" Professor Trelawney said in her quick but smooth voice. Her earings made jangling noises as she spoke.

Everyone sat down in their tables, Harry and Ron taking the far right table.

"Today, as you all know, we will be studying the Ouija board!" Suddenly, Ouija boards and planchettes shot towards every table top. "Most famous in the Muggle world for being able to speak to you. The Muggles believe that the Ouija board knows the future, and it knows all. Some believe you can talk to the dead through it. Some believe that the Devil is speaking through the Ouija board. But truly, the Ouija board, the magic world does not even know how it works! There have been cases found with Ouija boards that could tell the future and even visual recordings of supernatural things happening with it." She moved in her seat, her earings clinked like windchimes. "The process of using an Ouija board isn't that hard... You put your _fingertips_ on the planchette, and don't press it down... In a few moments, the planchette would move. You can ask the board questions, but _one at a time._ Concetrate really hard on your question, too. Also, I don't want any of you all to fool around with the board because this is serious, everyone."

Ron and Harry looked at each other. They always assumed Professor Trelawney was a fraud.

"Now, let's begin." She clapped her hands once and everyone's fingertips reached their planchette.

On Harry and Ron's table, Ron and Harry were whispering to each other.

"Ask the board a question, Ron..."  


"Why _me_?" hissed Ron.

"Because you're the more innoce--"

"You're the more innocent one!"

"Fine, I'll ask it a question..." Harry looked at the board. _Who is the headmaster of Hogwarts?_ Harry expected nothing... The planchette didn't move. It stood there, Harry thinking this was all kind of stupid, but then the planchette started to move towards the letter D. Ron was staring at the planchette. His fingers were trembling. Harry's fingers were placed lightly on the planchette. The planchette glided over the board from D to U to M to B to L to E to D again and to O to R and then to the final letter: E.

"_Dumbledore?_" whispered Ron. "What's he got to do with your question?"

"I asked who was the headmaster of Hogwarts..." replied Harry. His voice was soft and difficult to hear. He was gazing at the board, wondering if it could answer questions he had been wanting to ask.

"Well, ask it another question!"

__

Who am I? H-A-R-R-Y P-O-T-T-E-R was the board's answer. Ron gaped at the board as Harry told Ron his question he had asked.

"You think it's true?" asked Harry.

"Positive..." Ron stared at it and he closed his eyes. The planchette didn't move a bit, but it felt like the board was thinking for a moment. The planchette spelled out, "Only if you take the right roads..." Ron looked very disappointed and released his fingers from the planchette. "Right roads, what the hell..." mumbled Ron, as he placed his fingers back onto the planchette.

"What did you ask?"  
  
"If I was going to become rich..."

During that class, Harry and Ron kept asking the board questions they each wanted to know of their future. But a question had started to raise in Harry's mind. Who _was_ he talking to? The board, a ghost, maybe a superior being?

"Your turn, Harry... Ask something good." Ron moved towards the edge of his seat, his eyes attached to the board.

__

Who am I talking to? The planchette glided itself around the edge of the board and sprang to the middle of it. Harry and Ron waited for it to move. Harry pushed the planchette, but it didn't move. Ron did the same. Still, it lied glue onto the board. Professor Trelawney came between the gap of Ron and Harry. She made an, "Ooo"ing sound.

"This, boys, is when the spirit feels worried. He or she will stop moving the planchette at all. He or she will just hold down the planchette onto the board with immense weight... You can either put that board away or wait a bit longer until the spirit's back to normal." She glided away, her choky perfume leaving trails around the room as she walked towards another table across the attic. 

The planchette started to move again. "I can't tell you," spelled the board.

__

Why not? asked Harry in thought.

Ron shutted up.

"Because I am afraid..." replied the board.

__

Don't be afraid. I-- 

"That is _all_, today!" The boards flung back to Professor Trelawney's table. She was holding a piece of broken china. Neville was sitting next to her, his face glowing red with humiliation. "I want all of you to read up on the Ouija board chapter!" Most of the class got up and headed towards the door. Professor Trelawney kept speaking, though. "If any of you have questions or concerns, you can talk to me after class." Students filed out of the attic, talking wildly. Harry had already stood up with his bookbag but Ron was walking to Professor Trelawney.

"Uh... Professor Trelawney?" Ron stepped an inch back away from her heavy perfume.

"Yes, dear? Oh, I see...!" She held her fingertips to her temples and inhaled deeply while closing her eyes. "You want to ask me a question about theee..." Her fingers twitched. "Ouija board?" Her eyes sprung open, her fingertips lightly pressed on the end of her eyebrows.

"Uh... Yes. Can I borrow the Ouija board for homework? I want to know more about it and I--"

  
"Why of course!" interupted Professor Trelawney. She rustled to the back table and snatched an Ouija board and its planchette. She shoved it towards Ron who took it quite gratefully.

"Thanks," Ron replied. He grabbed his bookbag, the Ouija board and planchette in his arm and hand.

After finishing dinner with Hermione asking what had happened with the Ouija board, the three friends left towards Gryffindor Tower.

"And what is yo' yonda--"

"Get out of her, Wicklespout!" The Pink Lady pushed a knight out of her portrait, her face flushing red. She pat down her hair and looked towards the three confused-looking friends. "Password?"

It took them a few seconds until Ron blurted out, "Gaton Beans..."

The portrait swung open and they stepped inside the common room. The fire was dying, but the windows were open. Gusts of cool wind swept into the common room, making everyone tug on their jackets or sweaters. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took seats in an empty space near the corner of the room. The back of the chairs were facing everyone, so they had some privacy. Ron pulled the Ouija board and the planchette out of his book bag and Hermione leaned back into her chair.

"I'm not going to use it," prompted Hermione.

Ron eyed her. "I haven't even asked you."

"But don't." She looked around feeling empty without a book on her lap. She took one of Harry's schoolbooks and flipped through it.

Ron shrugged and pulled a sidetable inbetween him and Harry. He placed the board on it, the planchette resting on the board. Harry and Ron had to maneuver their chairs so they can sit properly to use the board. They placed their fingertips onto the planchette and Harry glanced at Ron.

"I'll ask first," said Ron. "It's my turn, anyway..." He closed his eyes with a dreamy look on his face. The planchette moved towards the letter "B." Ron grinned.

"What?"

"I asked it for the grade of my Transfiguration test."

"And it said a _B?_ Ron, you wouldn't have a chance to get past a C," said Hermione who was glaring at the board. "You don't trust those things."

"And why not? Is it because you can't believe I can't get a B? Is that it, oh smart Hermione?"

"I wasn't meaning that. I'm just saying you shouldn't beli--"

"The only reason you don't want to try it is because you're scared," spat Ron, who was staring at Hermione quite blankly.

Hermione looked back at him and glared. "I'm not scared, Ron Weasley." She looked back at the board. "I'm just... _cautious._"

"Cautious," laughed Ron.

Harry glanced between the two. "I'm sure both of you would never think of flirting with each other," remarked Harry who had been secretly grinning behind his frown.

"Oh, shut up," said Ron and Hermione in unison. Ron and Hermione turned the back of their chairs to each other and Harry had to find a way to put the Ouija board in front of Ron, because his knees were already touching the wall.

"My turn..." Harry looked at the board and ruffled each of his questions through his mind. Then one snatched into his head... Harry and Ron put their fingers on the planchette. _Will Ron and Hermione ever get along?_ The planchette spelled out, "When Hagrid despises dragons."

"What's that mean?"

"Oh, nothing," replied Harry.

"Ask it something else..." Ron was trying to sit on the edge of his seat to get away from Hermione as far as possible.

One question was still running through Harry's mind. _Who are you?_ The planchette moved to the letter L. Then I. Then L and L again. Then Y. Then it finally landed on, "No."

"No?" asked Harry puzzly. The planchette flung out the open window and Harry ran over to the window sill. He looked out, but only saw bushes below. He looked up, but only saw the gray night sky. He looked ahead, and only saw the hills that carved into the sky. He turned around and sat back down in his chair.

"Lilly..." repeated Ron who was packing the board back into his bag.

"What are you doing, Ron?" inquired Harry. He had known what was going on. He was talking to his mother.

"I told you not to listen to--"

"Hermione, shut. Your. Trap, you know it all _brat._" Ron swung his bookbag over his shoulder and trodded up the stairs, saying good night to Harry, and only Harry. Hermione was left with a grunt from Ron. Hermione sighed, turned her chair so it faced Harry, who was sitting in his own chair. Harry's eyes looked down onto the floor.

"What's up, Harry...?" asked Hermione.

"Lilly... Lilly Potter, Hermione..." muttered Harry.

  
"What? You were talking to your... mom...?" Hermione leaned forward and pat his shoulder. "Never believe things that has its own mind, Harry. Never trust them, either."

But Harry wanted it to be true. He wanted the board to be his mother so he can ask her questions he's always been yearning on. He wanted to tell his mother about all the courageous things he had done during the past 5 years. He wanted to tell her everything, Sirius, Voldemort, the Dursleys... Maybe he could convince his mom to somehow let the ministry of magic forbid Harry to ever step into the Dursley's presence. But what if Lilly disappointed Harry? What if she wasn't what he always thought she would be? _Come off it, Harry, she saved your life..._

Hermione leaned back into her chair. Harry's shoulder suddenly felt colder as her hand left his shoulder. Hermione gnawed on the insides of her cheeks, staring into the fire and sighed. 

Harry looked away from Hermione, sensing that her face hasn't helped him feel any better. He stared into the fire instead, its warm look flooding his body with a drench of heat. Harry hadn't noticed it at first, until Hermione pulled on his sleeve, pointing next to the fireplace. There was a shadow creeping up the wall as if someone was standing there and was growing and growing. The shadow leapt across the wall and disappeared out the window.

Hermione looked at Harry.

"What the hell was that?"

The next day wasn't as bright, but the sky was scorching blue. The sun was a bright white, the grass gave off a weird natural smell, and the birds were screaming with their high-pitched voices. The Gryffindor Quidditch team were throwing balls at each other as hard as they can, beating flying objects with bats, and zooming around as if they were flies simply trying to create a weird natural design in the air.

Oliver Wood was standing on the grass, his broom held up in his hand. Apparently, the letter Harry had received said as following:

__

Dear Harry,

To inform you about what happened, Madam Hooch told us not to use those Imitator booms otherwise we'd be disqualified. Why? Because Hooch's too strict about brooms or something? Well, Harry, if you must know, those Imitator brooms aren't for Quidditch. They're more advanced and more like a transportation for short distances. I got them from the... black market...

The words "black market" were as tiny as Harry's eyes could see. The ink was splotched too close together so it looked more like "blk mtk." The letter kept rambling about how Madam Hooch had to talk with the ministry about using the Imitator brooms. Harry just ignored it. He didn't care at all. Well, maybe he did, but now the only thing that mattered to him was figuring out what the hell that shadow thing was. It kept appearing in the most unexpected times.

Well... Except for today.

Fred smacked a Bludger towards Harry, and George swooped down to smack it back to Fred. Harry was looking around, trying to find the Golden Snitch. Oliver Wood got on his broom and headed towards the three goal posts, attempting to smack away the quaffle.

Fred groaned. "Great, here comes Draco the--"

"Well, hell-_lo_ there, mister poor and helpless." Draco grinned. He was alone. The fact that he was alone made it look weird. Everyone was so used to see Crabbe and Goyle at his side that it was part of Draco.

Fred landed on the ground perfectly and smirked down at Draco. "What do you want, filth?"

Draco didn't flinch but only smirked back. "Nothing of yours. It would worth nothing more than crap."

Fred gave him a glare and Oliver landed next to him, panting. George was attempting to run smack into Draco with his broom but everyone had to hold him back - especially Oliver. "What do you want, Draco? This is our turn to be on the field."

"Can't an innocent Hogwarts student even step onto the Quidditch field?"

"Depends on who the hell you're talking about," spat Oliver. "Get out now before I get Madam Hooch, Malfoy."

"Touchy touchy, Wood. Using last names now, huh? Suprised to see you here again this year. What, your grades aren't good enough to get you a job? I'm suprised! I would've thought you'd fall back to 5th year with us." Draco laughed. He held up his hands defensively. "Oh, no, Madam Hooch's going to kick me out of the school!"

Harry landed next to Oliver.

"Morning, Mr. Potter. Would you like me to lick your shoes?"

"That would be offending. Hell, I don't think anyone wants you to touch them," said Harry.

"That - was stupid, Potter." Fred and George both advanced on Draco but Oliver pulled the two back and he gave a hint to them that Madam Hooch was coming over with Alicia Spinnet.

"It's more smart than you'll ever be," said Harry, his glasses slipping from his nose. He pushed his glasses back up the ridge of his nose and Draco snatched Harry's broom before Harry could think what had just happened.

Draco cackled. "A bit _slow_ aren't you, Potter!? Not cracked up like you are, eh?" Draco threw his broom hand to hand. "Want it back, Pot-"

"Malfoy?"

Draco sprung around to see Madam Hooch looking down at him with a smile on her face. "Good morning, Malfoy! Isn't today just splendid?" croaked Hooch.

"Uhm, yes, it is, Madam Hooch." He looked towards the side.

Madam Hooch leaned against her left foot. "Isn't that Potter's broom?" inquired Hooch who was goggling towards the broom.

"Harry Potter took my broom, ma'am," said Malfoy in his most honey-coated voice.

"That's the stupidest lie ever! That's Harry's broom!" screamed George. "Give him back his broom, Malfoy!"

"First of all, Weasley, this is my broom. Harry's broom is over there." He pointed towards a rusted, broken down, splintered broom leaning against one of the stands. "Oh, wait, that's your broom!"

George and Fred growled. Oliver Wood pushed them aside so he could talk to Madam Hooch. "Morning, Miss Hooch, but I would like to say that Malfoy here walked onto the field without your permission, I believe?" asked Wood.

"Well..." started Madam Hooch. Oliver's eyes widened. "I told Malfoy to come here to get a few of my belongings and, well, I suppose Malfoy got carried away..."

"Carried away!?" hollered Fred and George from behind. "He -" George pointed to Draco. "- is a filthy person who took Harry's broom! He insulted us, Miss Hooch! Draco Malfoy--"

"Mister Weasley, I heard enough. Honestly, everyone knows about the bickering between Slytherin and Gryffindor."

"That's because those Weasleys can never keep their stupid mouths shut," spat Draco.

"Mr. Malfoy, you're going to my office after this, got it?" sparked Hooch. 

Five seconds of silence. 

Draco threw Harry's broom back to him.

"Take it back, Potter! I don't need your Muggle-loving filth!" screamed Draco. He turned around, the seams of his robe swerving around his ankles, and marched out of the field, his hands in round fists.

Even George and Fred looked suprised. "He's jealous!" said the two in unison.

"Well, duh," replied Alicia Spinnet.

"I think that's solved..." Madam Hooch's voice was drained. She seemed a bit tired but she grinned towards the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "I hope you all haven't been bruised by Mr. Malfoy."

"We've been dealing with those kind of people for 7 years," said Fred.

"8 years," muttered Oliver.

Madam Hooch glanced helplessly at Oliver and cleared her throat, changing her position so she looked like a marine seargent. "All of you, continue with your practicing! If any troubles go on with Mr. Malfoy, then I will personaly speak with his father." She gave them all a reassured grin and walked out of the field, her own robes swerving around her ankles.

Harry blinked questionably at the sky.

*

"He knows," yelled a voice.

"He doesn't."

"Of course he knows!" yelled the voice. "You gave away your name! And you think he doesn't _know?_! He'd expect you to be his mother anyway."

There was an edge of silence between the two. A woman with rusty red hair stood in a dark room, the curtains pulled together with a rope. Her eyes were green. She was not Lilly Potter.

There was a heave of a sigh, and the disappointed voice broke out again. "You're an idiot..." There was a sound of moving. "An idiot with no _brain_. Even Pettigrew could've done better."

"Lord Voldemort, I apologize, but according to your plans, you told me to tell him -"

"Not that soon! Not that late! You gave him her name in the wrong time, you idiot!" There was a fit of coughing from the corner. "Fetch me some drinks now..."

"As ordered," replied the woman. A shadowed arm appeared in the luminated window. A large bird, particulary a vulture, flew over to the woman's shadowed arm. The shadows left.

"I'm working with idiots..." complained the man in the corner.

*

Saturday, the best day of the week. Harry and Ron sat in the common room talking over about what to do this week.

Hermione was left sitting in the corner, talking to the girl Harry noticed before. According to Hermione, the girl's name was Cathlyn. She preferred Cath.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade," said Ron.

"Why? You can't, anyway."

"Ah... Damn it, I forgot 'bout that," muttered Ron. He slouched in his overly large chair and stared into the morning's sky. "Wanna check out the owlery?"

"No..."

"Hedwig's fine, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"What about that shadow thing?"

Harry shrugged. "It hasn't appeared for two days now."

"Good... That thing's starting to freak me out... Did you find the planchette?"  


"Nope. How much does Trelawney want?"

"Five sickles for the planchette."

"_Five?_"

"Yep."

"She's crazy."

"She's Trelawney."

Silence.

It was humorous, Ron and Harry's conversations. They were all pretty pointless. Well, their answers to each other's questions were.

"Are you still mad at Hermione?"

"That bitch is still bitching about how un-bitchy she is. But really, she _is_ a biotch."

"Ron..."

"What?"

"... Nothing..." Harry shook his head sideways, his glasses slipping down the ridge of his nose. He took off his glasses and sighed. "You two better make up or I'm going to have to do something drastic," said Harry, putting his glasses back on. "Like getting you two to dance together."

"What have you become!?" Ron glared at Harry. "A teenage girl's dream!?" Ron was referring to teenage girls' dreams of having a guy to dance with.

"It's those teenage girls magazines I've been reading," joked Harry.

"... Eeew..." Ron pushed his chair away from Harry and Harry laughed back.

"MROW!" screeched Chrookshanks. The loud, fat cat trampeded down the girl dorm's staircase and into the common room. Another noise was heard. A vulture swooped down after Crookshanks. Crookshanks ran and jumped onto Hermione's lap, meowing helplessly at his owner. The vulture gave Crookshanks a dirty glare that gave the cat a terrified look. The vulture sat on a table, the whole room staring at it.

"Poke it!" wailed George.

"Okay!" Fred stupidly approached the vulture and poked its shoulder.

The vulture turned its ugly head to Fred.

The vulture beared a black collar that blended into its feathers. It looked away at Fred, seeming to think Fred was nothing important to bother with.

Everyone stared at the vulture without knowing what to do.

All the vulture did was fly out of the common room window, a feather left behind on where it last stood.


End file.
